S42.E07: Kristen Wiig / The xx

[MrWhyt]

5 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I'm tired of Willie. What happened to Drunk Uncle? 

Also liked the cut sketch much better than Surprised Sue. How do they not understand what to cut and what to keep?

they do a dress rehearsal in front of an audience, if a sketch doesn't play with the the audience it could be cut, or it might not have fit due to time.

[VCRTracking]

I noticed in the "Aunt Sue" Vanessa was in her usual "middle-aged middle class mother" outfit with the brown wig with the some grey, turtleneck and jacket.

[helenamonster]

I loved the Cold Open. Donnie is so, so, so not ready for this. Also Pence being the only thing stopping Donnie from getting impeached. Too damn true. I do agree with those who think they're a little too sympathetic to Kellyanne Conway. Kate nails the portrayal but why are we pretending that she's anything less than thrilled at the recent turn of events? Idk if she'll have a role in the administration but y'all can bet we'll be seeing her ass on cable TV every night for the next four years and that's all she wants.

Yeah, there are people that seriously want The Bubble (which would 100% be located in Brooklyn) instead of engaging with those who voted for Donnie and trying to put in the effort of making sure that things don't go too far off the rails in the next four years.

The Anderson Cooper sketch was perfect. I'm officially done with cable news after this election cycle and they captured the inanity of the whole thing brilliantly. RIP the fourth estate.

I'd be Cecily's character in Target too if I hadn't deliberately chosen to spend my Thanksgiving with the bluest branch on my family tree (which includes neither of my parents).

The QVC sketch wasn't great, but I think it was a great showcase for Cecily. She really excels at the "suburban housewife at the end of her rope" thing.

Weekend Update was excellent (minus Willie). I even liked Pete's bit, which I normally don't. Based on his Instagram, he is genuinely frustrated about the election results and I think that came through in his segment.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade sketch was bizarre and a little terrifying, so perfect for post-Update. Poor Kristin Chenoweth!

"Pearl is white as a ghost, because she is a ghost. She's been dead since the 1940s and has unfinished business. If you see her in your mirror, it's already over."

On 11/20/2016 at 1:33 AM, vb68 said:

Oh yeah, Kristin's short haircut reminded me a bit of Carol Burnett for some reason.

It reminds me of Sarah Paulson's current 'do.

16 hours ago, nowandlater said:

Oh, Donnie, my sweet summer child. That's not how the equal time rules work, babe! Also you had all 90 minutes of this show to yourself a year ago so shut the fuck up, perhaps.

9 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I enjoyed the monologue too. I know many people hate singing monologues, but I liked the goofiness of the song and everyone dressed in costume. The best was Nina, Pinta, Santa, and Maria, with a grinning Leslie leaning into the frame. Loved seeing Steve Martin and all the rest.

I don't watch Anderson Cooper 360. Does the panel discussion always end with them all laughing? Anyway, I liked this a lot. David alexrod eating while being introduced was great. Loved Kristin correcting Cooper's pronunciation of her name -- "It's Dana, for some reason." -- and then the Trump supporter saying, "I'm smug to be here." The whole sketch was a good commentary on how the media goes in circles and doesn't really confront the issues.

So, I really don't have any big complaints. I thought it was very funny. Oh, is Grant Choad an anagram? Does it mean anything to anyone?

I burst out laughing at the Nina, Pinta, Santa, and Maria bit. Leslie nailed that quick second.

I wouldn't say they AC360 segments always end with them laughing, but even when things devolve to mudslinging and personal attacks, there's always this effort to end things on a lighter note, which is part of the problem with cable news right now; they're afraid of getting too serious and therefore are not confronting the issues in a critical way. Also the Donnie surrogate that Kate was playing, Kayleigh McEnany (I have no idea if that's how it's spelled and I don't care enough to check), usually gets laughed at by the other pundits because she is a ridiculous human being who lies like it's going out of style.

I think the last name "Choad" was supposed to be a reference to a certain homonym that is usually tricky to get past the censors.

[peeayebee]

Love your post, helenamonster. I would 'Like' it multiple times if I could.

Thanks for explaining Choad. I had no idea. 

[spiderpig]

First time on the SNL forum, but was a steady viewer from its 70s inception until - dare I say it? - Kristen Wiig drove me out of my mind with her incessant mugging.  I thought I was the only one, but judging from many comments here, apparently not.   (And it seemed she was in every damned sketch.)

Writing has picked up again and they have some real on-camera talent.

I DVRd the last show to see Alec's latest Trump antics, but held off on the rest because of Wiig.  Sounds like there is some good material, though, so guess I'll soldier on.

Edited November 21, 2016 by spiderpig

[Ms Blue Jay]

Hated this particular joke.

The rest was fine.  Meh compared to Chappelle, but not terrible.
The Westworld sketch was good.
I really hated the Thanksgiving Parade one, personally. The rest was fine.  The monologue was atrocious and somebody snarked back at me "It's SUPPOSED to be bad." You know, I really hate that response.  I don't care what you think something is supposed to be.  The monologue was bad and I'll say it was bad.  Really bad.  Compare it to last week's.   I ever heard a person or two declare that that one was the best they'd ever heard.  (Now imagine me saying in a smug tone:  "Well it's SUPPOSED to be."  Lord)

Edited November 21, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Traveller519]

Like many, I wasn't particularly looking forward to a Kristen episode, but I genuinely laughed a lot at this one, from the political commentary, to the weirder side of things, to even Kristen's recurring characters. And the show introduced me to a band I didn't know, but really enjoyed! They looked like they were having so much fun playing.

I wonder if the strong female forerunners help reign Kristen in a bit, or at least make her feel like she doesn't have to do all the heavy lifting for the women. I went back and looked, and Kristen's first season, as a Featured player, was Tina's last. Maya and Amy left the two seasons after that. Until Kristen's last season (37) when Nasim got promoted, and Vanessa had her second season as a featured player, the only other major female player was Abby Elliott, who while there didn't exactly stand out.

Now whether the likes of the Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilsons felt it tough to break through, with Kristen's dominance at the time, or they just couldn't nail the format, the emergence of the strong female contingent we have now really allows her to contribute to sketches rather than dominate them. Both Secret Word and the QVC sketches prominently featured Cecily who was every bit a big piece of those sketches as Kristen. Whiskers R We is Kate's sketch. And Kristen was just as good and equally used as everyone else during Anderson Copper 360. It was so balanced that by the time Surprise Sue rolled around, I enjoyed her over-the-top character.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

See The Best of Kristin Wiig's Pre-Thanksgiving Hosting From Saturday Night Live

Less pointed Trump humor, more jokes about gravy boats and killing time at Target.

[fastiller]

12 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Yeah, there are people that seriously want The Bubble (which would 100% be located in Brooklyn) instead of engaging with those who voted for Donnie and trying to put in the effort of making sure that things don't go too far off the rails in the next four years.

&

Oh, Donnie, my sweet summer child. That's not how the equal time rules work, babe! Also you had all 90 minutes of this show to yourself a year ago so shut the fuck up, perhaps.

 

Yes, Brooklyn and a bit more of NYC, connected to parts of CA via some section of tubing.  I imagine various Bubbles all over the States.

I actually replied to his Tweet with essentially what you said. .

[yogi2014L]

i didnt care for this episode that much, but i think it was because I loved Chappelle much. Also I'm getting burned out on politics so even though they were funny I just want to hear about ANYTHING else

I was dying during the Thanksgiving sketch, as well as the QVC and Wiskers R We

I didn't like the thanksgiving song in the beginning, was a little boring and not that funny to me...and Im a big Kristin Wiig fan

Overall good ep but Chappelle was a tough act to follow. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

[wknt3]

16 hours ago, helenamonster said:

II wouldn't say they AC360 segments always end with them laughing, but even when things devolve to mudslinging and personal attacks, there's always this effort to end things on a lighter note, which is part of the problem with cable news right now; they're afraid of getting too serious and therefore are not confronting the issues in a critical way. Also the Donnie surrogate that Kate was playing, Kayleigh McEnany (I have no idea if that's how it's spelled and I don't care enough to check), usually gets laughed at by the other pundits because she is a ridiculous human being who lies like it's going out of style.

I don't think it was supposed to be specific to AC360 but more of a general statement about CNN (and the MSM in general) being constantly distracted by shiny objects and willing to normalize anything no matter how over the top. The picked Anderson Cooper because he's recognizable and pretty representative of cable news as a whole without a specific easily identifiable agenda so they would have had to make up their own show, pick someone that nobody knows, or risk losing the point they wanted to make by making it look like they were going after a particular ideology or a specific idiot instead of cable news as whole.

[VCRTracking]

Cut for time sketch. Okay this feels like it's a dig on Kristen's sketches and ideas always getting approved at SNL pitch meetings while other's get rejected! "Hindra" is Kristen while that talking crystal voiced by Cecily is Lorne Michaels. Either a self-aware Kristen wrote it or a bitter writer who worked with her:

Edited November 22, 2016 by VCRTracking

[peeayebee]

I kind of liked that. I don't see it as a commentary on pitch ideas though.

[helenamonster]

Yeah, I thought of it more as a joke about all of the weird things on this planet and if there was some kind of divine creator(s), why did they include them? I'm sure flamingos contribute to the global ecosystem is some way but at first glance they're just some really weird birds.

[Princess Sparkle]

This is one of those instances where I think they should've kept both cut sketches and booted some of the ones left in - I would've kicked Sue and Secret Word (which I normally like, but didn't love this iteration).  That Thanksgiving one is hilarious, and I like the one above - Vanessa's reaction to "Is it another bear?" has been making me giggle for the past 10 minutes.

[JZL]

That sketch wound up as just a vehicle for more Kristen Wiig "I'm-so-dumb-I'm-so-stupid" mugging.  Go far far away and give Zamata and Villasenor a shot!  That sketch could have been something but they yet again go to the mugging instead of actual creative and funny writing. 

I can't believe she once reminded me of Carol Burnett.  What a hack.  I don't see what Lorne sees in her. 

Edited November 23, 2016 by JZL

[lookeyloo]

We used to love Kristin.  then Kate came along...

[Dee]

Kristen has always been like nails on a chalkboard to me, so I tuned in for Weekend Update (which was pretty good), then tuned right back out.

Edited November 24, 2016 by Dee